5 takeaways on a win that stopped the bleeding -- but did not erase some red flags and concerns.

NEWARK -- Desi Rodriguez couldn’t hit a shot. He turned the ball over. He got beat on defense. It was the worst possible start in the biggest game of the season for Seton Hall basketball’s mercurial wing.

Head coach Kevin Willard showed faith in him, and the senior delivered.

Rodriguez scored a career-high 33 points as the Pirates survived DePaul 82-77 before 8,500 nail-biting fans Sunday. The verdict stopped a four-game losing streak but probably didn’t do much to ease the nerves of fans who fear the Pirates (18-9 overall, 7-7 Big East) are on a downward trajectory.

Rodriguez, who shot 12 of 21 from the field and grabbed eight boards, echoed those concerns.

"I’m happy that we got the win, but I'm still not satisfied with the way we're playing," he said. "Sometimes we have breakdowns defensively and it starts with me, it starts with the seniors."

"He has his Desi moments; he's 90 percent good," Willard explained. "When he's playing and he's locked in, I think he's the most dominant player in the league, and there's times where he goes through a little two-minute stretch where he doesn't have it. I'm used to it, the team's used to it, and we know how to do it."

DePaul (10-16, 3-11) rallied from 12 down to pull within two late as two Hall starters fouled out, but a disaster was averted thanks to Rodriguez and senior center Angel Delgado (16 points, 19 rebounds, four assists, three steals).

“This was a must-win; we could not lose this game,” said Delgado, who beforehand cautioned the freshmen against dancing or any displaying kind of non-serious body language. "It's a big-time difference in terms of confidence in ourselves."

Seton Hall entered the day with an RPI of 24 thanks largely to four high-quality or Quadrant One wins: at Louisville, at Butler, Creighton at home and Texas Tech on a neutral court. Their resume remains strong, but red flags remain, too.

"I said 'Angel, why can't you dive on the floor?' He said, 'I'm too big,'" Rodriguez said. "I'm like, 'You're not too big to jump on the floor.' He did it today and I was surprised. That set a tone for us and got us going."

This despite a nagging knee injury that keeps him out of practice.

"I stopped practicing the big fella just because I really want to take care of that knee," Willard said. "It's fine, he feels good -- he doesn't even have to get therapy on it -- but it's one of those things in practice where I'm just worried about him bumping knees with somebody and then all of a sudden, it flares back up."

"I can’t even get up right now," Delgado joked from his chair in the interview room. "I’ve got to leave everything on the floor. Every game right now I feel little bit better. I didn’t even think I was hurt (today). I just played."

2. Despite the reprieve, red flags remain. Senior point guard Khadeen Carrington couldn’t hit the side of a barn (4-for-14 shooting) and fouled out yet again. DePaul shot 48 percent from the field. The Pirates bricked crucial free throws down the stretch. Although the Hall dominated the glass (plus-17), it came down to Rodriguez converting tough one-on-one shots. That’s not a recipe for the long term.

"We get too complacent," Rodriguez said of the inability to put 40 minutes together. "Teams don't back down, and we’re not mentally strong and ready to get what they're throwing at us.”

3. Myles Cale played well, then disappeared. The freshman guard turned in a superb first half, posting six points, two rebounds and a spectacular bounce-pass assist, plus some aggressive defense, in nine quality minutes.

"When you see those guys, the guys that come off the bench just coming in and playing hard, you get motivated," Delgado said. "These guys want it. We (see that and) pick it up."

Cale led a second unit that helped Seton Hall take the lead. Yet he didn't play in the second half until the final minute.

"Myles Cale played really well in the first half, and then Desi just had it going," Willard said. "I wanted to slide him in there for Myles Powell, but I was hoping Myles Powell would make a shot for us . . . but Myles was passing the ball tremendous. He draws so much attention. Again, I think the freshmen have been really progressing great."

4. Willard is betting it all on his seniors. Given a chance to play freshmen Jordan Walker and Sandro Mamukelashvili more after their strong outings in Wednesday's loss at Xavier, Willard passed. They combined for just 10 minutes and three points.

Willard's loyalty to Seton Hall's seniors is best summarized by his response to a question about why he didn't bench Rodriguez after several mental errors in the first half.

"He's a senior," Willard said. "Sometimes you've got to trust your kids, and I have great trust in Desi, and I know he's going to snap back out of it. He did within two seconds -- two minutes. Sometimes when he gets like that and you take him out, he doesn't snap out of it. You've got to let him play, and Desi, I let play."

5. It’s a four-game season. Here’s what the Pirates have left: at Providence (17-10, 8-6) Wednesday, at St. John’s (14-13, 3-11) Saturday, third-ranked Villanova (24-3, 11-3) at home Feb. 28 and Senior Night vs. Butler (18-10, 8-7) March 3 (the time recently was set for 8 p.m.). The Hall has beaten three of those teams already this season.

"We're not falling apart," Willard said. "I go through college basketball and I see a lot of teams who have lost three out of four. It's called league play."

If the Pirates go 2-2 down the stretch, they'll get into the NCAA Tournament without a sweat. This group finished strong the last two regular seasons, which Delgado pointed out after the game.

“Coach always tells us, we’ve been through this," the big fella said. "This is nothing new. We always took some punches, but we always get up and fight. That’s what we’re doing right now.”